


Hello Spaceboy

by HelloSpaceboy (orphan_account)



Series: Hello Spaceboy [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Other, dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 19:11:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/HelloSpaceboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice wants to fall; it's all getting to be too much for her, and she hates it. So she gets ready - ready to jump - to take that leap of faith. But before she can throw everything away, she finds herself in the company of someone else; someone so caring for a complete stranger that she pauses...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Alice peered at the ground through watery eyes. Fear rattled at her frame as she wobbled on her seat on the roof, and for once in her life, she didn’t know what to do. She could jump. It would be so easy, and it would be over so quickly… Just let go, and feel the air rush past her as she plummeted story after story after-

But she didn’t. Another ragged intake of breath, and she let out one more gasp of a sob. It was all just _too much_ for her; she was in her early twenties and she still didn’t have a hold on her own life. Claims had already been made: her parents controlled everything she did academically, who she saw, where she went – they even chose her flat for her.

“Why haven’t you done it yet?”

The voice made her breath catch. It was a good point; there was no point now… She’d never had a real relationship, and the only things she’d ever really enjoyed were often taken from her, so why not? Why not just let go? She closed her eyes and sucked in a rush of air, trying to steady her voice before she spoke. The reply was whispered out, tone wavering as tears flocked down her features. “I don’t know…”

“I do.” The same voice replied, and the next thing she knew, a man had taken a seat beside her, legs swinging carelessly from the ledge on which they sat. Alice didn’t want to look at him, but curiosity compelled her… hazel gaze fixed upon his hands. He just kept talking, making nothing of the situation, like it was just another casual chat – _it was like he was talking about the weather –_ and Alice just _listened_. “I know why you haven’t done it yet. Haven’t jumped… Do you want me to tell you?”

There was a pause… and a reluctant nod.

He shuffled a little bit closer, and Alice found herself growing more and more nervous as he spoke. She should just jump, she told herself. But she didn’t. She stayed and listened to him. The man’s body twisted to face her a little. “Because as terrible as the world is and as gloomy as it gets, you know – even if you don’t admit it – that there’s hope. There’s always this tiny, miniscule sliver of hope that could change your life entirely, and you cling to it… You don’t want to hit the ground… you want to fall, and you want someone to save you. You have so much left to offer, and you know it. You’re so clever and beautiful and you’re so _you_ , and if you jump, that’s it; every fantastic little thing you had the potential to do has gone to waste. Every amazing little detail about you just blinks out of existence, and you’re worth so much more than that. You deserve to conquer the universe and see the stars…”

“I just want…” She started, only barely realising that she’d so much as looked up from his hands, and was staring into rich blue eyes as old as time. “I just… want it all to stop. I want it to stop hurting so much.”

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” He asked.

Before she even knew it, Alice’s name had slipped from loose, wet lips, and he was beaming at her. Such a charming, infectious smile plastered across defined features; thin lips peeling back to reveal pearly teeth. “A pleasure to meet you, Alice. Please, think about what I’ve said… You’ve still got the world ahead of you, so don’t throw it away. I’m the Doctor… Would you mind if I stayed here with you for a little while? I won’t bother you anymore. Promise.”

 


	2. Hello Spaceboy (Chapter 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice wants to fall; it's all getting to be too much for her, and she hates it. So she gets ready - ready to jump - to take that leap of faith. But before she can throw everything away, she finds herself in the company of someone else; someone so caring for a complete stranger that she pauses...

He’d sat up there with her for hours, the Doctor. They’d simply sat in silence as she mulled over her thoughts, running rings around the idea of ending her own life. He didn’t tell her anything spare that his name was ‘the Doctor’ – and she believed him so completely that the idea he’d been lying to her barely crossed her mind. To her, he was a doctor, he was the Doctor, after all… she hadn’t thought that anyone could convince her to come down off that ledge, let alone a complete stranger.

Alice had gone home when the sun had started to set, and he’d disappeared. The Doctor didn’t leave a number, or an address, or any way to contact him. So she walked back to her flat alone and in complete silence, wondering why he’d done it. Why anyone would sit on the edge of a building on a Friday afternoon knowing there was a risk of seeing someone jump, or fall, or…

Those few moments of conversation rolled through her consciousness over and over again with the hope of learning something – anything – else about him. She recalled curly hazelnut hair and sharp blue eyes, a charming smile and delicate hands, and his _name_. The Doctor. Nothing more; she didn’t even know if she _wanted_ to learn anything else. Perhaps it would be better for her to forget him and carry on with her life, she thought, after all, the chances of her seeing him again were so miniscule that it was barely worth deliberating.

But there she sat on the edge of the roof once more, throwing scraps of leaves from a dried-up potted plant and watching as they fluttered lifelessly to the ground. She’d been there for hours; isolated from the world so completely that she didn’t even suppose that anyone could see her, all those storeys down. They just bustled about their everyday business; Londoners ignorant to the world around them.

“I thought I asked you to think about what you’re about to do, Alice?”

The sound of his voice brought the slightest of smiles to her lips. Alice had barely realised that she had been so much _happier_ that day. Saturdays were usually the worst; the family checking up on her and so much free time coupled together were enough to drive her mad. “I have… I’m not going to do it.”

“So why are you here?” The Doctor asked, taking a seat beside her once more. “If you’re not going to do it, why come back up here?”

Alice had replied before she’d even realised she’d spoken. She barely understood what had been said, but the Doctor was beaming at her in response. Laughter lines kissed the corners of his eyes and a crease cupped either side of his lips, and Alice found herself smiling meekly back at him.

 

*

 

It carried on for days after. Every afternoon after she finished work, she’d wander down to the building and find her way to the roof. He was always late, but he always turned up. He’d offer that same, sweet smile to her and let her talk about everything terrible that had happened that day, and all he’d do is tell her it was alright, and she was meant for more; little reminders to let her know that someone cared about her. The more often they met, the less she complained, and after two weeks, Alice had run out of complaints entirely. She still felt like there was nothing more to her life than some boring, dead-end job and over-controlling parents; and it still hurt her more than she thought she could ever admit to someone. But she didn’t want him to know that he wasn’t helping nearly as much as he thought.

The Doctor hummed one afternoon, sitting with her on a set of old wooden deckchairs he’d brought from god-knows-where, and quirked a brow at her. “I have a small request, should you like to hear it.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because your life has started to get so much better, and you’re looking happier; you might not be happy yet, but you’re getting there. I can see it.” He explained. “I don’t want to ask you and have you lose your happiness because of something silly like this.”

Alice leaned forward in her seat. “What are you talking about?”

His expression fell, abandoning the happiness once gracing his features, and looked at the woman before him with sad eyes. He got to his feet. The Doctor held out a hand to her, palm up and empty, and almost breathed the words that followed. “Come with me.”


End file.
